The easiest place to get vitamin C is straight off the plate. The Finnish nutrition recommendations name fresh fruit, berries and vegetables as its best sources. Potatoes have a little vitamin C too. The families' food recommendation keeps it simple: vegetables, fruit or berries at every meal.
Where to get vitamin C
Berries. Blackcurrants, strawberries and sea buckthorn are familiar Finnish sources of vitamin C. In winter, frozen berries are the easiest way to keep berries on the table.
Vegetables. Peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and other cabbages. Pepper sticks are an easier start for many children than boiled cabbage.
Fruit. Oranges, mandarins and kiwis. Citrus fruit is at its best in winter.
Potatoes. Potatoes have less vitamin C, but they're eaten often, so they add their own share over the day.
Vitamin C at every meal
An ordinary family day could go like this:
- Breakfast: berries in porridge or yogurt; frozen ones work fine.
- Lunch or packed lunch: pepper sticks, cucumber or grated vegetables.
- Snack: a mandarin, orange segments or a kiwi.
- Dinner: broccoli, cauliflower or salad on the side.
How does vitamin C survive cooking?
Vitamin C dissolves in water and doesn't like heat. A few ways to keep it in the food:
- Serve some of the vegetables raw.
- Boil vegetables briefly in a little water, or steam them.
- Use the vegetables' cooking water in soup or sauce. Some of the vitamin C stays in the water.
- Chop vegetables just before cooking.
How much vitamin C does a child need?
The 2024 Finnish nutrition recommendations set vitamin C as follows:
| Age | Recommended intake a day |
|---|---|
| 1–3 y | 25 mg |
| 4–6 y | 35 mg |
| 7–10 y | 55 mg |
| Girls 11–14 y | 75 mg |
| Girls 15–17 y | 90 mg |
| Boys 11–14 y | 80 mg |
| Boys 15–17 y | 105 mg |
| Women | 95 mg |
| Men | 110 mg |
Source: Finland's national nutrition recommendations 2024 (Kestävää terveyttä ruoasta), appendix 10 a.
The recommendation went up in 2024. Adults used to be recommended 75 mg a day, now it's 95 mg for women and 110 mg for men. That's why older numbers still show up online.
Vitamin C for kids
The recommendations name people who eat few vegetables, berries and fruit as the group at risk of too little vitamin C. When they're on the plate at every meal, vitamin C adds up over the day.
What does vitamin C do?
"Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system."
One Ayaka multivitamin chewable tablet, the daily dose, has 25 mg of vitamin C, which is 31 % of the EU nutrient reference value.
In short
- Vitamin C comes from berries, fruit and vegetables, and a little from potatoes.
- The aim is vegetables, fruit or berries at every meal.
- A 4–6-year-old needs 35 mg of vitamin C a day and a 7–10-year-old 55 mg.
- Raw, briefly cooked or steamed food keeps its vitamin C.
Keep reading: Iodine and vitamin B12: where does a child get them?
Why Ayaka?
With Ayaka, your child decorates their own reusable jar with stickers. The jar becomes their thing. The idea is that the vitamin becomes a routine your child owns, not something parents have to remind them about. Ayaka has 12 vitamins and minerals. A refill comes through the letterbox once a month. See Ayaka multivitamin
